


Red Letter Day

by willowwand



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-30
Updated: 2016-11-30
Packaged: 2018-09-03 06:21:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8700832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/willowwand/pseuds/willowwand
Summary: Eleven-year-old Ron receives his Hogwarts letter, but his excitement is overshadowed by other news.





	

Ron stood at the small, round window in his bedroom on the topmost floor of The Burrow. He scanned the sky for owls, growing increasingly frustrated at the owl-free summer sky. His was the hottest room in the house, and he longed to be outside drinking cold pumpkin juice. But he'd been waiting all summer for the day a letter from Hogwarts would arrive for him. His dad had heard a rumor at the Ministry that letters would be sent out this week, so every morning Ron had waited for the post to arrive. So far he had been disappointed. 

There was a Weasley family tradition. Whenever his brothers got their letter informing them that they had a place at Hogwarts, Mum would make their favorite meal for dinner. Ron had been thinking about it all week, and he wanted beef and mushroom pie with mash drowned in gravy. Lost in thought, he nearly missed the eagle owl that swooped down toward the Burrow, carrying a small bundle. Ron started and hurried downstairs, taking them two at a time. 

"Mum," he shouted as he swung open the kitchen door. "Was that the post?"

"Yes," she said, waving her wand to rinse the breakfast dishes. "Would you mind, Ronnie?"

Ron hurried to free the owl's bundle, and it promptly flew out the kitchen window. String bound several letters together, so Ron separated them. _Percy Weasley. Fred Weasley. George Weasley._ His heart raced as he held his own letter in his hands. _Ronald Weasley_. He examined his name written in green ink on the front, then he turned it over and broke the purple wax seal.

He'd read his brother's letters before, but there was something different about reading your own. He looked carefully over every page, not wanting to miss a thing. His mum put her arm around him.

"Congratulations, Ronnie," she said, smiling. "I'm so proud."

The kitchen door swung open, and Percy walked in with a heavy book tucked under his arm. "Mum have you seen my... oh, have our letters arrived?"

Ron held out Percy's while still poring over his own. He wasn't allowed a broomstick, which he knew. His list of supplies was long, but he already had some of them. Before he left for Romania, Charlie finally went to Ollivander's and replaced the secondhand wand he used all through school. Ron would use his old one. He'd also inherit Bill's old robes, which his mum said were a bit worn, but not too bad.

"Yes!" Percy shouted, in an undignified, and unPercy-like, manner. Ron looked up from his letter and saw his brother holding up a shiny red and gold badge.

"Oh Percy!" their mum squealed, rushing over to envelop him a tight hug. "A Prefect! We have to celebrate! Your father is going to want to do something special. New robes? No, but you had said you wanted an owl! We can go to Diagon Alley this afternoon, and then we'll have a lovely dinner to celebrate. Oh, I wish Bill and Charlie were here. They would be so proud. I'm going to send your father an owl! Oh Percy!"

Both his mum and Percy hurried out of the room. Ron folded up his letter carefully and put it in his back pocket. Ron skipped lunch and stayed up in his room for most of the afternoon. Ron’s mum and Percy returned from Diagon Alley with the supplies, mostly secondhand, from their school lists. Percy came home with brand new robes and an owl from their father, who had been pleased to hear his news.

Ron sulked through dinner of roast chicken and chips, which was quite good, but not what he had hoped for. After dinner, he went back up to his room, turning down Ginny’s offer to play a game of gobstones. After some time, Ron heard a knock on the door. He had been lying on his bed reading an old issue of Martin Miggs the Mad Muggle, but he tossed it onto the floor and turned onto his side to face the wall. He hoped whoever it was would think he was asleep. 

The door creaked open, and he heard Percy clear his throat. "Ron? Can I come in?"

"If you want," Ron said, not bothering to turn or lift his head from his pillow.

"It's... er... very good that you'll be starting Hogwarts this year," Percy said. "I think you'll realize quite quickly that it really is the best magical school in Europe, with numerous opportunities for you to excel. Maybe in a few years, you'll even find a Prefect's badge in your own letter.

Ron scowled and turned to face his brother. Percy looked nervous, as though he didn't know what to say. He held his rat Scabbers in his hands, stroking his fur as though he wasn't sure what else to do.

"What do you want, Percy?"

"Well, it's clear to me that Scabbers and Hermes are not going to get on, and I know you've always wanted a pet. So, I wanted to ask if you might want to keep Scabbers."

"You're giving me Scabbers?" Ron asked, sitting up quickly.

"If you don't mind taking care of him," Percy said. He looked down at the fat rat dozing in his hands. "Now, it's a big responsibility. You'll need to feed him every day, and you shouldn't take him out of the dormitory. He sleeps most of the time, but occasionally he has bursts of energy and he's faster than he looks."

Percy held out the rat, and Ron took him into his hands. Scabbers opened one eye before falling back to sleep.

"I'll just..." Percy cleared his throat. "I'll leave you to it then."

Percy turned and started to walk out of Ron's room.

"Hey Percy," Ron said, stopping him in the doorway. "Thanks. And congratulations on making Prefect."

Percy smiled. "Thank you, Ron. Goodnight."

"Night."

Percy closed the door, and Ron looked down at his new pet incredulously. The day hadn’t gone as expected, but he suddenly didn’t feel as bad about it. “All right, Scabbers? We’re going to Hogwarts.”


End file.
